Can you tell the difference between imitation vanilla and the real stuff in your baked goods? The chefs at Cook's Illustrated decided to put this to the test, and their results may surprise you. Get the scoop on this and our other favorite picks from the March/April issue after the jump!
Real Vs. Fake Vanilla - While there's no doubt that real vanilla extract has more depth of flavor than imitation, the cooks found that much of it disappears when the vanilla is heated and combined with other ingredients. They say imitation is fine if you're only using it for baking, but spring for the real extract if you make a lot of pastries or cold desserts.
Discovering Authentic Ciabatta - We can't wait to try this recipe! It makes use of a biga, one of the Italian pre-ferments, and includes a touch of milk to get that signature airy crumb.
DIY Pre-Grated Parmesan - Step away from the green can! Testing showed that parmesan bought whole and then grated in a food processor will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge. It's just as good as when freshly grated and is way better than anything pre-grated from the store.
Keeping Kitchen Staples Fresher Longer - We're thinking about taping this handy reference of pantry storage do's and don'ts to the inside of our cabinet! It gives the average shelf-life for things like vinegar, maple syrup, and chocolate, along with best practices for keeping everything fresh.
Mashed Potatoes, French-Style - We've never even heard of mashed potatoes like this! Instead of fluffy pillows, this recipe gives us something that looks more like savory potato pudding. The French term for this dish is "aligot," and we plan to try it out on dinner guests soon.
What stood out for you in this issue?
• Check out what else this issue has to offer on the Cook's Illustrated website.
• The March/April issue of Cook's Illustrated is on stands now for $5.95.
Related: Technique: Homemade Vanilla Extract
(Image: Flickr member Ginnerobot licensed under Creative Commons)
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1. making your own vanilla extract is pretty easy (re-sealable bottle filled with vodka or rum and 3 or vanilla beans cut length wise, allowing it to sit for a few weeks, shaking every once in a while). As you use it periodically add either add more liquor or another bean- and it will last for ever. No more 9 dollar brown bottles of 2 oz mystery flavor.
2. storing your grated parm cheese in the freezer will make it last even longer
3. a egg beaten in to mashed potatoes is pretty awesome, if your not pregnant or compromised.
Faux vanilla I can taste a mile away. Maybe its just me but chocolate and some baked goods with Vanillin leave a horrible taste in my mouth. Toll House chocolate chips are not an option along with several other types of chocolate.
I also make my own extract. Great instructions on how to: http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Vanilla-Extraction/
Yum.
I'll also testify to the ease of making your own extract. I have two smallish mason jars, each of which has three beans in it. In one of the jars I have vodka and in the other I have bourbon. The vodka-based extract is a more true-vanilla-extract flavor and the bourbon-based extract tastes like delicious vanilla bourbon (big surprise, eh?!). I find myself using the bourbon vanilla extract a bit more because I like the added dimension that the bourbon adds to my baked goods.
I'm with Deirdre: I can taste the chemical flavor of imitation vanilla in almost anything. If pure vanilla isn't available when I'm baking, I'll make something else that doesn't require vanilla. I haven't tried making my own extract yet but it's on my list!
The other great thing about real vanilla is that it lasts forever, so it’s a good value.
With respect to how long you can keep kitchen staples, the stilltasty.com website is very useful—you type a food name into their search box and it will tell how long you can keep it, the best way to store it, etc. Here’s the link:
http://www.stilltasty.com/
A lot of the philosophy behind Cook's Illustrated and the America's Test Kitchen T.V. show seems to originate from the varied idiosyncrasies of the editor/host Christopher Kimball. He's had a grudge against real vanilla for years. He also favors Del Monte ketchup, which isn't even widely available.
Although some of his arrogance comes through in the magazine, you need to watch the show to truly appreciate it. I have always been bothered by the dogmatic declarations that they have determined "the best" recipes in their test kitchen. Especially when the winner is almost always a classic formulation with extra butter added. They also leave the recipes with odd measurements, perhaps to enhance the laboratory mystique of their methods. Can weighing out precision amounts of flour possibly work consistently in the real world of changing humidity?
If you calculate the per batch cost difference between artificial and real vanilla, you're not looking at huge sums. Why would you even entertain the notion of using fake vanilla, if you are going to otherwise be using quality ingredients? Penny wise; dollar foolish.
You might want to take this strange war on vanilla as good justification to closely examine the emperor's wardrobe.
I think a lot of it has to do with freshness. My mom has restaurant supply sized bottle she bought at Sam's club about 12 years ago, and it's barely half gone. She may as well just skip the vanilla - what flavor could possibly be left? And she can't understand why my brownies taste better than hers. (And my uncle wonders why I show up at her house with a bag full of ingredients and half the appliances from my kitchen.)
Surely they jest. There is no substitute for real vanilla, especially good products from Mexico, Tahiti, Madagascar, or homemade. There's so much rich variation in spice among real regional and estate vanillas. I may use one for cookies, another for whipped cream, and yet another for quick breads depending on the desired flavor quality.
I probably have six different small bottles of vanilla in my house at any given time and it's pretty high on the list of things I frequently sneak past airport customs agents.
P.S. Most American commercial, cheap extracts (not pure extracts) also contain some immitation vanilla, which is --brace yourself-- a chemical byproduct of wood refining and papermaking. Ewwww.
I just made my first batch of homemade vanilla extract. So easy and in the long run cheaper than buying little bottles of mystery extract.
Use a dose of Jim Beam, Myers Dark Rim or Ginger Brandy for a depth of flavor in baked goods, like that super yum date pecan pie that was in the contest.